Crucified With Christ (Compilation) — Compilations

The Futility of Trying to Change the Self

Oh, I'm so glad that there came a day when I went down to a little conference in West Coast of Florida, and I heard a man say, you know, some of you have been trying to get victory over yourself and your nature and your traits and your disposition for years and years and years, and you haven't gotten anywhere.

You've been cutting it off a little at a time and trimming here and trimming there and praying about this and working on that. Nothing hasn't done any good. He said, you know what, what's your problem?

Salvation as Forgiveness Versus the Christian Life

And by that time there was only two of us there as far as I was concerned, him and me, and I almost shouted out in the meeting, go ahead, tell us, what is it? I'm anxious to know. And then he said, your problem is that when you came to Jesus Christ, the only thing you were concerned about was the sin that was going to send you to hell.

And you saw Christ dying for you to take away the sin that would send you to hell. And you received him as your substitute. You received him as the one who died and sacrificed his life for you. And all you believed for you got, and all you asked for was forgiveness.

All you asked for was pardon. And you got everything you asked for. And ever since then you've been trying to live the Christian life in your own energy, in your own strength, and you thought that you could produce something for God, and you've been falling on your face and stumbling and crawling, getting up with good resolution and new determination, only to fall again.

Seeing the Cross From the Inside

And all of your problem comes because you've never looked at the cross from the inside. And I mind much as to shout it out, what do you mean look at the cross from the inside? And then he said to the congregation, shut your eyes.

And he took us up by imagination to the cross. And then he said, now walk around under that arm, that right, left arm of the Lord. And under the cross turn around and look up. Do you see those nails? Do you see how far they've protruded through the board?

And look, do you see there's a form there, like a person. Can you see who it is? Don't you see now? Why that person on the other side of the cross is you. Did you know that? That there were two people on the cross?

Crucified With Christ for Victory Over Temptation

That Christ not only died for you, but he died and when he was there for you, you were there with him. You know what your trouble is? And I almost shouted, what, what? You've never put your back up to the cross and put your hands over those nails and said, Lord, from tonight on, as long as I live, I'm going to stay right here, crucified with Christ.

If you'll do that and understand that God couldn't figure out any way to separate the good and the bad, but that in his eyes it's all bad. And that you are the one that died there that day. And that the day Jesus died, you died.

But you are prepared to come and just as you saw him dying for you back there, you see yourself dying with him and you'll stay there with your hands on the nails. God, for the sake of his son, will in the time of your temptation, release the life and power of his son into you, that you can have victory.

Will you do it? You know what I did? I went home, I took a piece of paper and I drew up a contract. I, my name, the time, the place, the date, do hereby declare that this day on, as long as I shall live, that I, that I am by nature, that I described it as God had shown it to me, proud, arrogant, lustful, sensual, deceiving, thieving, devout, earnest, praying, hardworking.

For it's a mixture, you see, it's a mixture. And I put it all down. That I, that stood outside the cross and pled for mercy, I count from today on to be on the cross crucified with Christ.